Is it okay to judge people by who they hang out with?

How many times when you were growing up did your parents instill in you the importance of hanging out with kids of good character? Stay away from the bad kids...guilt by association...you're judged by the company you keep...you are who you hang out with. But what happens when bad kids grow up to be bad adults? Some adults are so much better at masking their imperfections because they have had years of experience.

The test of what a person is really like is to observe them when they don't get their way. You learn all you need to know when you observe someone behaving badly when things don't go their way. The real problem is that if they are good at hiding their bad behavior, you might not know until something bad happens.

I used to be a pretty trusting person. I believed that everyone deserved a chance and that just because someone said something against another person didn't mean that I would experience the same thing. Remember in my post of a few days ago when I mentioned that I had gotten smarter? Well it's been my experience that there is a little bit of truth in what people say. And it might be a good idea to stop, look, and listen. You might have been lucky to have long time friends who are of good character and have proven their character and loyalty over and over. You might be very lucky to have made good choices.

I'm learning to be a bit more cautious and part of what I have learned in the past few years is that I'm grateful for the good friends that I have. I think I have learned the hard lesson that perhaps I should have been a little more cautious in who I hung out with. I think part of my history includes wanting to be around people all the time and to that detriment, I made some bad choices by hanging out with some people. Sometimes hanging out alone can be a good thing. It's one of the good things that I learned.

Remember that old saying 'Birds of a feather, flock together'? If we hang out together now, know that I treasure our friendship. I'm lucky that my circle, although it is smaller, includes the best of the best! Thank you, dear friends.

So to answer my own question...maybe not to judge them but maybe a better word is to be cautious of people who hang with people of questionable character.

Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them. ~W. Clement Stone